Kingdom Mandate
About this series:
Throughout 2023 all our teaching series will be looking at The Kingdom Of God. The essential goal is to help people understand the Bible’s teaching on the kingdom of God and raise confidence in God’s plans for his kingdom’s expansion / multiplication.
Our first series on the kingdom starts with an introduction to the king and his kingdom and then develops that biblical theme from the establishing of God's kingdom in creation to his choosing of a special people who would be set apart for him, how God's kingdom clashes with that of the world and the choices we therefore have to make, how we're to be a blessing while we live in the world but not of it, the promise of a coming anointed king bringing to reality the rule of God in / through the life of his people, the coming of the kingdom in a new way in Jesus as promised in the OT, what Jesus expected life in the kingdom of God to look like, what Jesus taught about the kingdom in parables, how the church relates to the kingdom and the future kingdom.
Preaching about The Kingdom Of God is a great way to address life as a church community - this is how life together under God’s reign should look like. And to address our lives in the world - demonstrating to those in our sphere of influence the reality of God and what life looks like when God is your king.
About this talk:
Scripture: Genesis 1&2
While much in the early chapters of Genesis is debated, certain things are agreed: that God is creator; that his acts in creation were intentional and ordered; that mankind is the pinnacle of his creation; that the world inhabited by Adam and Eve was beautiful and untouched by sin and that they had the perfect opportunity to enjoy unhindered fellowship with God, with each other and nature.
Adam and Eve were also mandated with the task of ruling the physical creation for God. There is a clear connection in Genesis 1:26 between being made in God’s image and ruling over creation, which the NIV translation brings out: “Then God said, ‘Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over…’”
In regard to our rule over creation on God’s behalf, John Stott helpfully says, ‘We are only tenants; God himself remains...the “landlord.”’ And though that mandate to rule for God and witness to the King has been tainted and spoiled by sin, it has never been withdrawn, our ‘tenant’ responsibilities remain:
After the flood, God reiterates his commission to, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth” (Genesis 9:1), establishing his covenant, “between me and you (Noah) and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come” (Genesis 9:12).
Through Abraham God would bless all nations (Genesis 12:2-3).
This promise and covenant is repeated again in Genesis (15:4-5; 22:17-18; 26:3-5).
But the mandate is more than to rule for God, it’s to express his rule through mankind. Adam and Eve were called to rule for him like him and in that way to enjoy the blessings of his rule and to show to all the world the greatness of God. This mandate affected every single area of life where God had delegated responsibility to Adam and Eve - ruling over the created world for him like him.
Application ideas:
What might life in the Garden of Eden have been like in terms of enjoying the presence / reign of God?
What are some of the limits of the kingdom mandate and what aspects of it do we retain to this day?
What does some of this look like for you in your time and place?
Audio only
